REVIEW: Corporate media news

Abstract

ON 3 October 2004, APN News and Media, owners of the New Zealand Herald launched a Sunday paper. The Herald on Sunday arrived as a major competitor for the Fairfax-owned Sunday Star-Times and Sunday News. The first issue featured a group photo of eager-looking new staff. Missing from their news coverage, however, was a timely story about media ownership and democracy. Ten days earlier, journalists at the weekday New Zealand Herald had announced plans for court action against their employers. APN had refused to extend the New Zealand Herald collective agreement to workers on the Sunday edition. This story began on July 30 with APN’s decision to launch the new paper.